Police charge 29 gang members with drug and gun crimes on Hartford's south side.

Members of a law enforcement task force said Tuesday that they arrested 29 gang members and seized drugs, guns and tens of thousands of dollars in cash in a crackdown on drug dealing on Hartford's south side.

The arrests announced Tuesday involve members or associates of the drug gang Los Solidos and are the result of nearly two years of investigation by the FBI, Hartford and State Police and a variety other law enforcement agencies, the authorities said.

The task force officers also have made numerous arrests in similar cases against drug gangs operating in neighborhoods on Hartford's north side.

"The distribution of narcotics allegedly undertaken by members and associates of the Los Solidos street gang has been seriously disrupted as a result of this successful long-term investigation by the Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force," said Patricia M. Ferrick, special agent in charge of the FBI's Connecticut office."It is our hope that our continuing investigations will break the stronghold certain gangs believe they have over Hartford neighborhoods."

Over the course of the investigation, task force detectives tapped phones used by drug dealers, made undercover buys of heroin, crack cocaine and firearms, and obtained warrants to search more than a dozen locations

The task force seized 24 guns, about $74,000 in cash, two kilograms of crack cocaine, two kilograms of powder cocaine, one kilogram of heroin, 7,000 bags of packaged heroin, 10 pounds of marijuana and four vehicles, U.S. Attorney Deirdre M. Daly.

The prosecution was initiated in connection with a federal anti-crime program called Project Longevity, under which law enforcement and civic leaders try to deter gun and drug violence by warning gangsters of the consequences of federal prosecution. The Solido members were identified and warned, apparently without effect, during group meetings before the criminal investigation began.

Participating in the FBI's Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force are the Hartford Police Department, East Hartford Police Department, Connecticut State Police and Connecticut Department of Correction. The Hartford Police Department's Vice and Narcotics Squad, Major Crimes Unit, Shooting Task Force and South Conditions Unit provided assistance to the investigation, and the U.S. Marshals Service and Capitol Region Emergency Response Team assisted with the arrests.